8 Paleo Pantry Staples that Take Your Cooking Beyond the Basics

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You’ve thrown out the flour, sugar, and pasta. You’re all set with herbs, spices, oil, olive oil, and vinegar. And if the zombie apocalypse comes, you have enough cans of coconut milk to build a fortress with some left over to whip up a quick curry. But to make your Paleo meals as delicious as they can be, it really helps to stock up on a few more unusual items as well.

These aren’t things that you’ll see in most people’s kitchens, but they give you a much bigger freedom to experiment, and a wider range of flavors to try – and who doesn’t love that?

1. Gelatin

Why you want it: A little bit of gelatin will make a sauce velvety-smooth; a lot will give you homemade pudding or Jell-O in any flavor you like. Plus, it’s gut-healing and good for your joints.

Where to buy: look in your grocery store near the pie fillings, Jell-O, and other baking supplies.

4. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

Why you want it: The delicious taste and all the health benefits of chocolate, but without the sugar that you’ll find in chocolate bars. Cocoa powder is great for making homemade treats, but it’s also surprisingly delicious in savory sauces.

Where to buy: In the baking aisle, by the baking chocolate. Make sure you don’t accidentally get hot cocoa; it’s not the same thing! Check the ingredients to make sure it’s just cocoa powder.

5. Fish Sauce

Why you want it: Fish sauce delivers that tangy, fermented taste that makes really good Asian food so delicious. Just a sprinkle can do wonders to perk up the flavors in your stir-fries, salad dressings, and soups.

Where to buy: Almost all grocery stores will carry it; check the ethnic foods aisle.

6. Dried Seaweed

Why you want it: As well as providing a wealth of important minerals, seaweed is a quick and easy way to add flavor and body to any kind of broth, soup, or stew. And you can even use it to make your very own Paleo sushi!

Where to buy: Asian markets, health food stores, or online.

Try it in…Rice-free Paleo sushi rolls, if you’ve got dried nori (the thin sheets of sushi seaweed). If you have wakame, kombu, or something else that doesn’t look like sushi, just toss it in your bone broth.

7. Dried Mushrooms

Why you want them: Mushrooms are high in the amino acid glutamine, which gives them a hearty, meaty flavor. This just gets concentrated with the mushrooms are dried, creating little flavor bombs perfect for adding oomph to soups, stews, and stir-fries.

Where to buy: Grocery stores, usually with the Asian foods or sometimes in the spice aisle.